Collapsible tube capping machine



Oct. 8, 1935. J, FR|DEN COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE 12 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5, 1934 m m 2 N Nd R E O m w 1 A Oct. 8, 1935. J. H. FRIDEN COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING' MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR- Jlznlila'idn, BY

ATTORNEY- Gd. 8, 1935. J mE 2,@16,4Z4

COLL'APSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE I Filed Jan. 5, 1934 l2 Sheets-Sheet 3 lNVENTORr Jkn HEY' an Oct. 8, 1935. J. H. FRIDEN 2,016,424

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets-Sheet 4 I l I l r v ATTORNEY- Oct. 8, 1935. H, EN 2,016,424

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Jfilm, HE? dn Oct. 8, 1935. .1. H. FRIDEN I COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets$heet 6 INVENfOR- Jl n Efiidin ATTORNEY- J. H. FRIDEN 2,016,424

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Oct. '8, 1935.

Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR .falznHEidEw ATTORNE J. H. FRIDEN COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Oct. 8, 1935.

Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets-Sheet 8 nll INVENTOR- Jaianlii'idn ATTORNEY- Oct. 8, 1935. .1. H. FRIDEN COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1954 12 Sheets-Sheet 9 v l IlLlIIFIIlIl INVENTORI knllfiiden/ BY ATTORNEY- Oct. 8, 1935. J. H. FRIDEN 2,016,424

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAP'PING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1934- 12 Sheets-Sheet l0 INVENTOR Jrkm lj'riden Oct. 8, 1935.

J. H. FRIDEN COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE 4 Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTOR Jbhn 11.5mm

I BY

ATTORNEY Oct. 8, 1935. J. H. FRIDEN COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1934 12 Sheets-Sheet 12 INVENTOR Jimlifii de'n ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 8, '1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE The Sun Tube Corporation, Hillside,

corporation of New Jersey ApplicationJanuar-y 5, 1934, Serial No. 705,312

18 Claims.

drels adapted to be shifted from one to another 15' of a plurality of stations. In one position the articles to be capped are automatically andsuccessively'fed from a conveyor onto the mandrels.

As the mandrels reach another position they are.

rotated and caps are automatically urged into 20 position so as to be threaded onto the tube. In

a third position the finished articles are automatically discharged. The operating parts-are so timed and related that upon each step of rotation of the head a work piece will be placed 5 upon a mandrel, another mandrel will heretated to effect the capping in cooperation with a cap holding device, and a capped tube will be discharged from a third mandrel.

It has been a primary object of the invention 3 to provide an efiicient and compact machine of the character indicated capable of rapidly performing the capping operations, without damage to the tubes.

ticularly applicable to the capping of collapsible 35 tubes such as are commonly employed for marketing shaving cream and 1 tooth paste. Such tubes are .filled from the bottom and should :therefore be tightly capped to prevent leakage adjacent the cap. 0 Various other objects-and advantages of the invention will be made apparent as an illustrative machine is described in greater detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: i

, Fig. 1 is-a top plan view of the machine with the parts in position in which a cap has just been applied to the tube.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of same on an enlarged scale, looking from the right hand side. of Fig. 1.

scale, looking from the left hand side of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of themachine, from the bottom of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on the line 5-5 of Figxl showing the d ive for the tube feed The construction disclosed is par- Fig. 3 is an elevation of same on an enlarged conveyor and tube delivery conveyor and the mandrel head.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail transverse section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 showing the cap clamping and feeding mechanism.

Fig. 7' isa section'on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6. h

Fig. 9 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is an elevation on an enlarged scale of 'a portion otthe mechanism shown in Fig. Gbut with the capjaws open and swung away from the tube.

-Fig. 11 is a vertical section on the line lI-H of Fig. 10. 1

Fig. 12 is an enlarged section through a tube mandrel when in engagement with the releasing roller forJetracting the anchor plunger which effects rotation of the tube with the mandrel.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged detail section through the outer end of the tube mandrel prior to retracting. the anchor plunger. e

Fig. 14 is a detail section, partly in elevation, of the air connection for blowing the tubes ofi of the mandrel.

Fig. 15 is an enlarged front. elevation of the tube mandrel.

Fig. 16 is a section on the line lG-IG of Fig. 12 with a portion shown in elevation. '30 Fig. 17 is a section on the line l'l-l'l of Fig. 12. Fig. 18 is an enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the mechanism for rotating the mandrel and tube to effect the threaded engagement of the cap and tube.

Fig. 19 is a section on the line I9-l9 of Fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is an enlarged section on the line 20-20 of Fig. 1 showing the tube-feed conveyor.

Fig. 21 is an enlarged, detail, fragmentary,'view partly in section, showing a portion of the mech- 0 anism of Fig. 4 including the cams for operating the cap jaws.

Fig. 22 is a section on the line 22-22 21, showing the 'jawrocking cam.

Fig. 23 is a section on the line 23-23 of Fig. 21, showing the jaw opening cam.

Fig. 24 is a section on the line 24-24 of Fig.

'2, but with the parts in another position, showing positive means for positioning the tubes on the mandrels.

Fig. 25 is an enlarged section on the line 25-25 0fFig.24 v v Fig. 26 is an enlargedsection on the line 26-26 of Fig.

- of Fig. 2, showing the cap hopper and slide operating mechanism, and,

. each revolution of shaft 20.

Fig. 2'7 is an enlarged detail view on the line 21-21 of Fig. 26.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly Figs. 3 and 4, the machine embodying the invention comprises a supporting frame I!) having suitable legs I l for holding the mechanism at an appropriate elevation above. the floor. Power for the operation of the machine may be derived from any suitable source. For example, a pulley i2 may receive power from a motor or a line shaft through a belt l3. The pulley may be secured to a shaft l4, carried by a bearing bracket l5 (Fig. 4) secured to the frame, and also journaled in a bearing i6. At an intermediate point a pinion l! is secured to the shaft and meshes with a large gear l8 secured to a shaft l9. Above the shaft i9 there is located a parallel shaft 2!). Suitable connections, preferably a Geneva gearing, are provided between the two shafts, the arrangement being such that upon each revolution "of the shaft iii the shaft 20 will be'given one step of movement, say a one-quarter turn. This will be accomplished in a corresponding portion of the rotation of shaft 19 and during the balance of the rotation of this shaft the shaft 20 will be held stationary. For this purpose, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, a Geneva roller 2| may be carried by an arm 22 secured to the shaft l9.and may cooperate, in well-known manner, with slots or notches 25 in a Geneva wheel 23 secured to shaft 20. A locking disc 24 carried by shaft i9 serves to prevent overthrow of the Geneva wheel and locks it against turning between the successive steps, in the usual way of a Geneva lock. More particularly, as the shaft l9 revolves clockwise or in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3, the roller 2| will engage one of the slots 25 in the Geneva wheel to rotate the latter one-quarter turn. Four revolutions of the shaft I9 are required, therefore, in the machine disclosed, for Except when the roller 2| is turning it, the Geneva wheel 23 will be held stationary by reason of the engagement between the convex surface 26 of the locking disc 24 and one of the concave surfaces 21 of the Geneva wheel. A friction brake, such as a rubber or leather shoe 34 (Fig. 1), may be provided,

. if desired, to engage the periphery of a chuck plate 35(hereafter described) to aid in preventing overrunning and to make the operation more uniform.

Secured in any convenient manner to the forward end of shaft 20, as best shown in Fig. 5, is a chuck plate 35 which carries a plurality of tube supporting devices, each designated as a whole as 36. Four of these supporting devices are employed in the machine illustrated, corresponding with the number of steps of movement of the shaft 20 in one complete revolution. If desired a greater or less number of these devices, say 3 or 5, may be employed and the Geneva drive should then be modified accordingly. It will be apparent that the number and arrangement of the devices may be varied to suit particular requirements. One of the supporting devices (all of which are alike) is shown in detail in Figs.

1247, to which reference will now be had. A

sleeve 31 is secured in chuck plate 35 and has a flange 38 abutting against the rear face of the plate. Within the sleeve 31 there is journaled for rotation a hollow or annular mandrel 39 having a bushing 40 shrunk thereon. A pulley M is connected to the bushing 40 by means of a set screw 42, to provide for rotation of mandrel 39, as hereafter described. The mandrel may be retained in proper assembly with the other elements by means of an integral flange 43, a headed member 44, and a threaded bolt 45. The member 44 will be described hereinafter in more detail. The forward end 39' of the mandrel is adapt- 5 ed to receive and support a tube 46, placed thereon as hereafter described, and may be tapered as at 41 to facilitate the operation of sliding a tube onto it. Within the mandrel 39 is an anchor plunger 49, which has a portion 49, provided 10 with longitudinal grooves or air passages 5|, and a portion 50 having a central longitudinal passage 52 communicating with passage 5| through a transverse passage 53. The plunger 43 has a head 54 formed with corners 55 for engaging the 1; interior of the neck of the tube to prevent the latter from rotating with respect to the mandrel while a cap is being applied to the tube. A stiff spring 56, interposed between bolt and plunger 48, normally urges the latter into its tube engaging position (Fig. 13).

For retracting the plunger to the position it occupies in Fig. 14, prior to discharging the tube from the mandrel, mechanism of the following character may be employed. The mandrel 39 may be provided with a transverse opening 51 into which project studs 53, threaded into a member 59 which is slidable lengthwise on the outside of the mandrel, the inner ends of said studs engaging the plunger in any convenient manner. A nut 80, threaded on the mandrel in front of the member 59 serves to limit the advance of the plunger under action of spring 56. The member 59 is provided with a beveled surface, as at 5|, adapted to be engaged by a roller 62- havinga surface 53 for cooperating with surface Si, in order to retract the plunger 49, prior to the discharge of the tube from the mandrel. After the mandrel passes the roller 62 during rotation of chuck plate 35, the plunger will be urged by spring 40 56 to strike the tube and start it off the mandrel. The roller 62 is joumalled for free rotation on a stud 64 supported by nut 65 in an arm 65 carried rigidly with a suitably located stationary portion 61 of the machine. The position of the roller 62 45 is best shown in'Figs. 1 and 2. This is intermediate the capping position and the position at which the tube is removed fromthe mandrel. In this way time is allowed for the retraction of the plunger and its release to loosen the tube on the mandrel before the tube removing means comes into action.

When the chuck plate 35- is rotated by the Geneva gearing to the position where the capped tube is to be discharged from the mandrel 39, at the right hand side of the machine (Fig. 2), member 44, which is provided with a beveled rear face 44', (Fig. 14) engages the front face of a member 10 which is supported in a station-' ary sleeve II and formed hollow for receiving an air tube 12. The member 1| may be secured through a flange l3 and bolts I4 to a rigid portion 15 of the machine, so as to be aligned with the mandrel in its tube discharging position. A. spring 16 urges the member I0 into engagement with member 44 and a nut 11 limits the advance of the member 10 to the extent desired for proper engagement with bevelled face'44' as the mandrel is brought'into position. In this manner,

- a tight joint is effected so that a stream of air 'shown in Fig. 1.

onto any suitable discharge conveyor mechanism 18 (Fig. 1) for delivery of the capped tubes to a convenient point of discharge. The air may be supplied continuously, or.intermittently Imder control of a valve operated by suitable, properly timed, automatic mechanism (not shown). A bumper 19 (Fig. 1), which may be formed of yielding material such as leather, is preferably employed in line with the blow-off position of the mandrel to prevent over-shooting of the discharge tubes.

We may now consider the means provided for automatically feeding the work pieces successively onto the mandrels at the left hand station in Fig. 2. Thisinechanism is mostclearly shown in Figs. 14, 20, 24 and 25. The tubes 48. to the capped. may be deposited in any suitable way, either by hand or automatically, from some other machine or conveyor upon a belt 88. At each side of the belt there may be arranged a chain 8I of suitable construction, carrying a series of spaced, upstanding pins 82. The pins on the two chains should be aligned transversely of the belt, as best On each chain the pins should be suitably spaced to hold the articles an appropriate distance apart and topermit them to be introduced successively at appropriate intervals into the path of certain operating devices. At their ends the chains are carried-by pairs of sprockets 84 secured to shafts 83 and 85 while the belt travels arounds' pulleys 86, also secured to these shafts. The arrangement of the belt and chains is such that the tubes will be supported entirely by the belt, free of the chains.

Suitable connections are provided for con-. tinuously rotating the inner shaft 85 at an appropriate, relatively slow speed. For this purpose the shaft is connected by a universal joint 81 with a slightlyinclined shaft 88, whose opposite end is connected by another universal joint 81 with a short shaft 89 parallel with. but offset from, the inner shaft 85. A sprocket 88 is secured to the shaft 88 and cooperates with a chain 9I which extends transversely of the machine and is supported at its opposite end by means of a sprocket 92 carried by a shaft 83. The bottom course of this chain as it passes from the sprocket 82 to the sprocket 98 is carried over an intermediate sprocket 94 connected in any suitable way to rotate with a large sprocket 95. Y As best shown in Fig. 5, the sprockets 84 and85 may both be joumaled upon a bushing 28' for free rotation about shaft 28. Sprocket 85 is driven by a chain 98 which is in turn driven by a sprocket 91 secured to the previously mentioned shaft I9. It will be apparent that through the connections explained, the chain 8| will be continuously shifted in the direction indicated by the arrows (Figs. 2 and 3) by power derived from the shaft I9. The rotation thus imparted to the shaft 88, and in turn to the inner shaft 85, will be at a relatively slow speed due to the reduction between the pinion I1 and gear I8 and the further reduction between the sprocket 91 and the sprocket 85. Now, as the conveyor 88 advances, the tube carried by the pins approaching the inner end of the conveyor will be dropped into a V trough 88 carried by a portion of the frame. As best shownin Figs. 1 and 20, a wall of the trough is notched, as indicated at 89; to permit the pins to pass through as the tube is deposited in the trough. The discharge conveyor I8 may be operated from the chain 9L and sprocket 92, through connections 81', 88' substantially similar to those through which the feed or delivery conveyor is operated,

mechanism such as the following.

. I89 is provided with an elongated slot III.

rounds the shaft. with respect to the sleeve and shaft and has flat After a tube has been placed inv the trough, a push-rod I 88, which is directly in line with the portion of the tube to which the cap is to be applied, is shifted toward-the right (Fig. 24) until it engages the tube and forces the latter onto the mandrel 39' which, at the time, happens to be aligned with the trough, at the left-hand side of Fig. 2. For the purpose of shifting the push rod in this manner, it is carried by an arm I8I secured to a rod I82 parallel with the plunger. The rod I82 passes through and is supported by a tube I83 and is connected at the left-hand side of the machine (Fig. 1) with suitable operating A pair of collars I84 and I85 may be secured to the rod I82 and a block I86 is slidable on the rod between the collars. The rod is normally urged by means of a spring I81, to carry the collar I84 against the block. Pins I 88, projecting from the sides of the block, are engaged by the forked extensionsof a lever I88 pivoted at its lower end upon a pin 8 carried by a portion of the machine frame. Intermediate its ends the lever rocking the lever I88 about its pivot, a disc II2 may have a stud II3 secured thereto by suitable means, said stud being provided with a collar II4 journaled on a flanged sleeve II5 which sur- The collar is free to rotate sides which engage the side walls of slot III. A nut I I8 adapted to lie in a slot I I8-in the disc H2, is threaded onto the inner end of stud H3 and thus held firmly against shoulders I28, while a nut III is threaded onto the outer end of the stud and turned down to urge washer I I8 against the outer end of sleeve I I5 to hold the stud against linear movement with respect to the disc. In this way, provision is made for adjusting the stroke of push rod I88 by varying the radial distance of the stud from the center of the disc II2.

For the purpose of rotating the disc 2, in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 24), the disc is secured to a shaft I2I journaled in the frame and having a bevel gear I22 secured at its opposite end. A bevel pinion I23, meshing with the gear I22, is secured to a shaft I 24, which also has a sprocket secured thereto adjacent its opposite end. This sprocket is connected by means of a chain I with a sprocket secured to the shaft I4 that receives power from the pulley I2. It will be apparent that through the connections indicated the lever I88 will be reciprocated once upon each rotation of the disc H2. The movement thus imparted to the rod I82 will be somewhat slower, at its maximum, as it is shifted in the direction to urge a tube onto the mandrel than when it is being retracted due to the fact that the lever arm on member I89, through which the stud I I3 acts. is shorter during the retraction of the plunger. While the disc rotates at a constant speed, variations in linear speed of the push rod are obtained in this manner. More specifically, the'initial movement of the soft tube onto the mandrel is comparatively slow to avoid For damaging the tube if it is not perfectly aligned with the mandrel. Furthermore, since the lever arm of member I88 is increasing as the stud I I3 passes through the most effective part of its arc in applying a tube a more uniform action is. pro-' duced. The spring I81 enables a yielding presmay if desired, be'made of sufficient length to prevent jamming of the parts in the event that the free movement of the plunger toward the right is interfered with. As the tube is forced onto the mandrel by the push rod I00, it is wedged against the corners 55 of the anchor plunger 49 and thus prevented from turning with respect to the mandrel while the latter is being rotated during the capping operation as hereafter described.

After the push rod I has been partially retracted, from the tube, the chuck plate 35 will be rotated through a quarter turn by means of the Geneva motion, previously explained, to bring the mandrel on which a tube has been placed to the top center station in the machine (Fig. 2), at which point the pulley 4I connected to this particular mandrel will be carried into cooperation with a friction wheel I30 adapted to engage the surface of the pulley, within the groove. As shown in detail in Figs. 18 and 19, friction wheel I30 is secured to a shaft I3I carried by a frame I32 pivotally supported through pins I33 upon a portion I31 of the main frame. A spring I34, bearing downwardly upon the frame I32 forwardly of its pivot, serves to yieldingly press the friction wheel I30 into engagement with the pulley H. The clockwise movement of the frame I32 (Fig. 18) may be suitably limited by means of a set screw I35. Any suitable means, such as a hand-wheel I36 secured to-a stud I38 threaded into main frame portion I31, may be provided to vary the tension of the spring I34. A pin drive I39 serves to couple the shaft I3I with a shaft I40 (Figs. 1 and 33) carrying a sprocket wheel I. This sprocket is driven by a chain I42 operatively connected to drive shaft I4. Through the connections explained, the shaft HI and friction wheel I30 will be rotated at a suitable speed. This in turn will serve to rotate the particular mandrel which happens to be in the right position at any given time. The speed of rotation will be appropriate for threading the tube into a cap which is urged against the end of the tube by mechanism now to be described.

With particular reference to Figs. 6-11, mechanism, for grasping a threaded cap and urgin it toward and into engagement with the threaded end of a rotating tube at one station of the mandrel, comprises a stationary Y-shaped member I50 bolted in convenient manner to a suitable portion of the main frame of the machine. The lower end of member I50 is bifurcated and supports a horizontal shaft I I, upon the central portion of which is journalled a rocker arm I52. The shaft is retained in position by collars I53. Arm I52 carries a bolt I54 adapted to pivotally support a pair of opposed jaw members I55 for opening and closing in a plane generally perpendicular to the axis of the tube or mandrel (Fig. 11). A nut is threaded onto the bolt for maintaining the jaws in assembled relation with the rocker arm. Each of the jaw members I55 is pro vided at its upper end with a generally semi-circular depression I56, adapted to receive a flange I51 of a cap I58, and,with shoulders I59 adapted to lie in front of said flange and grip the cap, tightly enough to substantially prevent rotation of the cap as a tube is being turned into it, best shown in Fig. 8. For the purpose of urging the jaws together a pair of springs I62 is provided, one in front and the other in rear of the jaws, these springs being attached to studsl63 carried by the jaws. After the cap has been applied, it is preferably held tightly enough by. the springs I62 to overcome the friction drive of the mandrel,

thus insuring that the cap will be screwed up tightly. If desired however, the parts may be so constructed and adjusted that when the cap is fully applied slippage will occur between the cap and the jaws rather than between the mandrel 5 and friction wheel. A flangedplate I60, secured to one of the jaw members by bolts I6I, is arranged to lie in back of the cap I58, for purposes hereinafter mentioned.

For opening the jaws, a cam element I64 is located between the jaws at a suitable point and is formed rigid with a rock shaft I65 pivoted in the member I50. When it is desired to open the jaws to receive a cap from a chute I66, the lower end of which is directly above the top of the jaws, the shaft I65 is rocked through a suitable angle by mechanism of the following character. An arm I61 secured to shaft I65 is pivotally connected to a link I68 in any convenient manner, and this link is pivoted in turn, as at I69 (Fig. 6), to an arm I10 carried rigidly with a shaft "I, which is mounted in one arm of the Y-shaped member. For the purpose of rocking shaft I1I, there is secured thereto an arm I12 to which is connected a link I13, as best shown in Fig. 3. The lower end of this link is provided with an elongated opening I14 (Fig. 23) surrounding the shaft I9. A roller I15, rotatably mounted upon the lower end of the link cooperates with a cam I16 secured to the shaft I9. The roller is held against the cam by means of a pair of springs I11 (Fig. 1) connected to an arm I18 secured to the shaft I1I. As will be seen best in Fig. 4, the springs I11 tend to lift the link I13 and hold the roller against the cam. It will be recalled that the shaft I9 is continuously rotated by the gearing I1, I8, which connects it with the drive shaft I 4. 'It will be apparent that as the cam I16 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 23, the roller I15 will be engaged by the cam surface I19 at a predetermined time and caused to urge the. link I13 downwardly, thus overcoming the action of spring I11 and opening the jaws I55 in timed relation with the other operations, as hereinafter described. The link 5 I13 may be provided with a turnbuckle or other suitable arrangement to vary the effective length of the link or the adjustment of the parts. Where desired, a handle I1 I may be secured to shaft I H for manually opening the jaws in the event of a am.

As the shaft I9 continues to rotate and brings a tube bearing mandrel to a position opposite the cap in the jaws, mechanism generally similar to that just described will rock arm I52 forwardly about pivot shaft I5I to bring the cap into engagement with the tube, through connections of the following character. The speed at which the cap is moved toward the tube should be coordihated with the pitch of the threads on the tube and cap and the speed of rotation of the mandrel as the cap is applied. A rock shaft I00 (Figs. 9 and 11) is carried in brackets I8I, which may be formed integral with the Y-shaped member I50, and has a forked arm I82 which engages pin I83 on a member I84, .which latter is adapted to reciprocate in the Y-shaped member for rocking the jaws about pivot I5I. The member I84 is formed hollow for receiving a light spring I85 arranged to urge a flanged plunger or piston I86 against the jaws I55. A plate I81 extends across the front of the jaws and is secured to member I84 so as to permit a limited action of, the plunger I86 and not to interfere with the action of the opening closing of the jaws as described. 7

The spring I is sufficiently strong to urge jaws forwardly, through abutment with piston I86, while maintaining a clearance (Fig. 11) between the flange on the piston and the portions of member I84 rearward of the flange, so that the cap is resiliently engaged with the tube at least during ,the initial contact of the cap with the tube, to avoid jamming if the threads do not at once take hold. Thus if the threads on the tube and in the cap are not properly alined as the cap is brought against the end of the tube the spring I85 will simply yield slightly until the threads are alined. The spring I85 is preferably light enough and the movement of slide I84 great enough to permit a firm solid push on the cap after the cap has been fully applied and slippage occurs between the mandrel and friction wheel. It will be noted from Fig. 11 that when the cap contacts the tube the jaws are in a substantially vertical position, so that the axes of tube and cap are aligned.

As a precaution against smashing of caps if a jam should occur, the rock shaft I80 may be operated through resilient means of the followingcharacter.

An arm I (Fig. 9) is secured to the rock shaftand to the end of this arm a link I 9| is pivoted and provided with an elongated slot I92 (Fig. 6) cooperating with which is a pin I93. A plunger I94, mounted for sliding lengthwise of the link, has one end bearing against the pin and its other end bearing against a compression spring I95, the force of which may be varied by set screw I96. The pin I93 is carried by an arm I98 secured to a shaft I91. As the shaft is rocked and the pin is moved upwardly (Fig. 6),

the link I 9| will be moved upwardly thereby rocking the shaft I80 and the upper ends of the jaws I55 are swung toward the rotating mandrel, to engage the cap with the tube. The spring I will yield should the caps become jammed in any way. It will be understood that the spring I95 is stronger than spring I85so the latter will yield first.

The shaft I91, pivoted in a branch of the Y- shaped member, is rocked by mechanism similar to that which rocks shaft "I for opening the jaws. Referring to Figs. 3 and 22, an arm I99 secured to shaft I91, has pivoted thereto a link 200, of adjustable length, which has an elongated slot 20I near its lower end, surrounding shaft I9. A roller 202 is carried on the end of link 200 for cooperation with a cam 203 secured to shaft I9. The previously described springs I11 are connected to an arm 204 secured to shaft I91 for holding the roller 202 against the cam. When the cam surface, upon' continuous rotation of cam 203, by shaft I9,-in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 22, engages the roller 202, the jaws are urged forwardly a proper distance and for a requisite time to engage the cap with the tube. The cam is so formed that the jaws are shifted rapidly until the cap is brought against the end of the tube and the balance of the movement is relatively slow, requiring say, about of the cam and being in synchronism with the desired advance of the cap along the threads.

It will be appreciated that the machine performs the following operations and that the contours of the cams I16 and 203 shall be appropriately designed to accomplish the desired synchronized operation of the parts which they control. A cycle of operations in which a tube is "capped may be described starting with the stage at which a cap has just been atached to a tube, when the parts take the positions shown in Figs.

the

positioning the caps for 6 and 7. Cam I16, which is secured'to continuously rotating shaft I9, will thereupon act to force open jaws I55, and immediately thereafter roller 202 will ride down from the high part to the low part of cam 203 and permit springs I11, acting through their connections with plate I 81, to swing the jaws I 55 clockwise (Fig. 11) about pivot I5I.

It will be understood that the jaws are opened sufliciently wide at this time to permit them to be freely carried away from the flange of the cap on the tube. As the jaws swing back, the upper surface of flanged plate I60, which serves to prevent caps in the chute I66 from dropping out while the jaws are forward, is "retracted and permits .a cap to fall into recesses I56, where it is supported by the bottom walls of these recesses and the front face of plate I60, as shown in Fig. 11. Due to the inclination of this face the cap will not tend to tip forwardly. However, tipping of the cap forwardly may be positivelyprevented, if desired, by so forming the part I19 of cam I16 that the jaws will be partly closed after they have been freed from the cap previously applied. They will then still receive a new cap readily but the flange of this cap will be more definitely retained. Shortly after the new cap is received between the jaws the roller I15 runs off the cam surface I19, or an intermediate surface, if one is provided, and the jaws are fully closed by springs I62 to grip the cap through shoulders I59. As soon as the jaws have swung back clear of the cap on the tube, as above explained, the rotation of shaft I9, through the Geneva mechanism described, advances the mandrel bearing the capped tube to the discharge station of the machine, and at the same time advances a tube to be capped to the capping station. The cam 203 then causes jaws I55 to swing forwardly to cap the new tube, after which operation the foregoing cycle is automatically repeated.

Automatic mechanism (certain features of which are disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 650,850, -filed January 3, 1933, to which reference may be had) is provided for maintain- .ing an adequate supply of caps in the chute I66,

and one form of such mechanism is illustrated in the drawings, particularly Figs. 1, 26 and 27, as including a hopper 205 having a bottom wall 206, which is inclined at an angle greaterthan the angle of repose of the caps, say about 30 to the horizontal. The hopper is divided into a main chamber 201 and a smaller chamber 208 by means of a baflie 209 which terminates above the wall 206. When a large body of caps is dumped into chamber 201 certain of them will flow into chamber 208 to fill the latter to the proper level for purposes which will be made apparent. If desired, this flow or level may be varied by means of any convenient form of adjustable gate or valve (not shown) adjacent the wall 209. The lower end of the wall 206 is provided with a flange 2I0, which lies closely adjacent a vertically reciprocating lifter 2I I, and the upper surface of wall 206 is curved, for instance, as shown at 2| 2, to aid in proper engagement by the lifter. The lifter travels in grooves at the ends of wall 2 of the hopper and rides along the latter. For reciprocating the lifter, a lug 2I5 is secured to the lower end thereof and is adapted to receive a roller 2I6 carried on a crank arm 2". The crank may be operated by a shaft 2I8, supported in any convenient manner and rotated through a large pulley 2 I9; a belt 220 and a small pulley 22I, which latter is secured to shaft I9 (Fig. 1). It will be understood that by this mechanism the lifter is reciprocated to carry its upper edge from a point below the surface 2I2 to the position indicated in Figure 26.

The upper end of the lifter 2| i is shouldered as at 222 to support caps which present their heads to this shoulder and which are inclined against the upper extension of the lifter in the position shown in Fig. 26. The shoulder is inclined along its length, as shown in Fig. 2 and also in dot and dash lines in Fig. 27. When the lifter 2H rises it engages a number of caps, along its length, and carries such of'these caps as happen to be properly seated on shoulder 222 with their heads leaning against the lifter, into position opposite a slot in the chute I66. The inclination of the shoulder, along the upper edge of the lifter may be such that the caps will roll into the chute. An inclination of say 20 will be satisfactory for round headed caps while a greater inclination may be desirable for hexagonal caps or caps with corners. on some strokes of the lifter no caps at all may be picked up, or what caps are picked up may be in such position that they drop ofi before the lifter has delivered them to the chute, but on r the average enough caps are delivered into the chute to keep it supplied at all times while the machine is operating. A satisfactory ratio between the rotation of chuck plate 35, which carries the tubes to be capped, and the rotation of shaft 2l8, which reciprocates the cap lifter, may be produced by employing pulleys 2 i9 and HI of suitable diameter, those shown giving satisfactory results for present purposes.

In order that the machine may be adapted for the capping of tubes of different diameters, provision is made for the adjustment of the trough 98. This trough is carried by a table 225 (Fig. 2) which may be lifted or lowered, as desired, by the turning 'of a handwheel 226. This hand: wheel has threaded engagement with the lower end of spindle 221 which is secured to the table 225 at its upper end and is adapted to shift the table as the spindle is moved longitudinally by the handwheel. A spring 228 surrounding the spindle and confined between a shoulder on the table and a bracket 229 secured to the frame urges the spindle upwardly until the hand wheel engages the under surface of a hollow extension of bracket 229. The spindle is keyed to the bracket to prevent turning of the spindle. It will be apparent that in this way the table will either be raised or lowered, depending upon the direction of rotation of the h-andwheel. The shaft 85 at the lower end of the feed conveyor is also carried by the adjustable table so that it will be shifted upon the adjustment of the trough. It'

will be apparent that when the larger tubes are to be capped, the table 225 will be lowered to the point where the trough will hold a tube with its axis properly aligned with the mandrel. In adapting the machine to act upon tubes of different diameter, it will be necessary, of course, to replace the mandrels by similar structures of proper dimensions.

The operation of the machine has been described so fully in conjunction with the detailed description of the various portions of the machine that further reference to its mode of operation is believed to be unnecessary. It may simply be mentioned by way of summary that the tubes to be capped are successively feed by the delivery conveyor into-the trough 98. From this they are fed by the push rod I onto the mandrel which at this moment happens to be at the left in Fig. 2. At the same time, the upper will be operated once while the upper mandrel will be rotated sufficiently to effect the capping operation. Furthermore, the delivery conveyor will move at the appropriate speed and will be so timed as to drop a new tube into the trough 98 each time the push rod Hill is fully retracted. While a machine embodying the features of the invention has been described in considerable detail; and a preferred method of operation has been set forth, it will be understood that these are merely for the purpose of clearly illustrating and pointing out the invention and that numerous changes in the form and arrangement -of the parts and in the particular mode of operation may be made without departing from a the general spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the class described, an intermittently rotatable member, a plurality of tube holding means on said member, means for feeding tubular work pieces onto said holding means at one station of the head, means for rotating another of said holding means at a second station, means for applying a cap to said tube at said second station, means intermediate said 85 second station and a third station for loosening said work pieces on said holding means, means for discharging a capped tube from another of said holding means at said third station, and common means for imparting step by step movement to the head, for operating said feeding means, and for operating said cap applying means.

2. In a machine of the class described an intermittently rotatable member, a plurality of mandrels rotatably mounted on said member, stationary cam means, means to hold tubes on said mandrels against rotation with respect thereto, means on said mandrels cooperating with said cam to release the holding means upon movements of the member, and means for automatically positioning tubes upon and discharging them from the mandrels.

3. In a machine of the class described, a tube supporting mandrel, means for rotating said mandrel, a plunger movable within said mandrel and having an end formed to engage said tube adjacent the end of the mandrel to prevent rotation of the tube with respect to the mandrel, and means to engage said tube with said plunger.

4. In a machine of the class described, a tube I supporting mandrel, means for rotating said mandrel, a plunger movable within said mandrel and having an and formed to engage said tube adjacent the end of the mandrel to prevent rotation of the tube with respect to the mandrel, spring means normally urging said plunger into tube engaging position, means to engage said tube with said plunger, and means to disengage said plunger and permit it to strike said tube a sharp blow.

5. In a machine of the class described, a tube supporting mandrel, means supporting said mandrel for rotation, a plunger within the mandrel for holding the tube against rotation with re- 7 spect to the mandrel, means for withdrawing the plunger to inoperative position, and means for discharging a fluid medium through said mandrel to remove work from. the mandrel when said plunger is inoperative.

6. In a machine of the character described, means to grip a cap, means to rotate a tube to which the cap is to be applied, an operating shaft, means connected with said shaft to shift the gripping means and move the cap through an arc toward and into engagement with the tube, and separate means supported independently of the gripping and shifting means connected, with the shaft to operate the gripping means.

7. In a machine of the character described, a fixed frame, means to grip a cap, means to rotate a tube to which the cap is to be applied,

' means to shift the gripping means and move the cap toward and into engagement with the tube, a member carried by the fixed frame and rotatable thereon to open said gripping means, and a common operating shaft with separate connections for shifting the gripping means and opening the same.

8. In a machine of the character described, a fixed frame, means to grip a cap, frictional means to rotate a tube to which the cap is to be applied, resilient yielding means to shift the gripping means and move the cap toward and into engagement with the tube, means to operate the gripping means comprising a member held against bodily movement relative to said. frame but rotatable thereon, and a common shaft for operating said frictional means, said resilient means and said operating means.

9. In a machine of the character described, means to grip a cap, means to support a tube to which the cap is to be applied, means for moving the gripping means to bring the cap into engagement with-the tube, said moving means being adapted to yield a predetermined, limited extent during initial engagement between the cap and the tube and including resilient means adapted to yield a greater extent subsequent to the initial yielding of the moving means.

10. A machine for capping a hollow, thinwalled, metal tube having a threaded end. which comprises means for supporting and rotating the tube, means for resiliently gripping a cap with,

its axis normally at a slight angle to the axis of said tube supporting means, and means for swinging the cap gripping means through a small angle to carry the mouth of the cap into a plane substantially at right angles to the axis of the tube and into engagement with said tube.

11. In a machine of the class described a pair of cap gripping jaws, resilient means for urging said jaws together, cam means for spreading said jaws, and means for rocking said jaws to carry a cap into engagement with a tube to be capped, said rocking being effected about a pivot .out changing the relative angular position of said ried thereby, means for rotating said head step by and means for rocking said jaws about one of said pins to grip a cap and about another of said pins to shift the cap into engagement with a tube.

13. In a machine of the class described a tube 5 supporting mandrel, a pair of cap receiving jaws, rreans for pivotally supporting said jaws, and means for rocking said jaws about the pivot to engage a cap with a tube on the mandrel, said means including a resilient connection adapted w, to yield until the threads on the cap and tube are brought into proper relation.

14. In a machine of the class described a cap gripping and conveying member comprising a pivotally mounted support, a pair of gripping e1e- 15 ments pivoted upon said support, spring means for drawing said elements together, yielding means to rock said support to convey the cap as it is being applied, and cam means for controlling said spring means and yielding means. 2

15. In a machine of the class described a rotary spindle head, means for turning said head step by step, a plurality of spindles on said head, means carried by said spindles for engaging and. retaining tubes against relative turning thereon, 25 and means for withdrawing said retaining means out of engagement with said tubes as the spindles pass a predetermined point during rotation of the head.

16. In a machine of the class described a rotat- 30 able spindle head, a plurality of spindles carried thereby, means for rotating said head step by step, means for applying tubes to said spindles at one position thereof, means for engaging and retain ing the tubes against relative turning on the spin- 35, dies, and means for withdrawing said retaining means and freeing the tubes as the spindles are carried into another position and before they arrive at said position.

17. In a machine of the class described a rotatable spindle head, a plurality of spindles carried thereby, means for rotating said head step by step, means for applying tubes to said spindles at one position thereof, means engaged by the tubes in applying them for assisting in retaining the tubes on the spindles, means for rotating the spindles at a second position thereof, means for withdrawing said retaining means out of engage,- ment with said tubes and freeing the tubes with-- tubes and spindles as the spindles are carried into another position.

18. In a. machine of the class described a rotatable spindle head, a plurality of spindles carstep, means for applying tubes to said spindles at one position thereof, means movable relative to i said spindles for engaging and assisting in retaining the tubes on the spindles, means for rotating the spindles at a second position thereof, means for retracting said retaining means out 60 of engagement with the tubes and freeing the tubes as the spindles are carried into another position, and means for discharging the tubes as the spindles reach the last mentioned position.

' JOHN H. FRIDE'N. 65 

